Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Trims Stock Holdings in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lowered its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 32.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 51,932 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 24,657 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $2,029,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 56.6% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,608 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 2,027 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 207.4% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,428 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 2,313 shares during the period. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 4,739 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,796 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust bought a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the 4th quarter valued at $218,000. Institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alaska Air Group news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total value of $249,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,048 shares in the company, valued at $999,201.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ALK. StockNews.com raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $44.00 to $51.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Melius cut Alaska Air Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Alaska Air Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.85.

Alaska Air Group Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE ALK opened at $44.23 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $5.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.75 and a 12-month high of $57.18. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.43.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The transportation company reported ($0.92) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.09) by $0.17. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 2.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.62) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

About Alaska Air Group

Alaska Air Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates airlines. It operates through three segments: Mainline, Regional, and Horizon. The company offers scheduled air transportation services on Boeing jet aircraft for passengers and cargo in the United States, and in parts of Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Belize, Guatemala, and the Bahamas; and for passengers across a shorter distance network within the United States, Canada, and Mexico.